Psychological Corollary

It is important that people who judge performance know that a person is making an effort.

Lesson Objective

Students will cite two reasons why people who judge us should know we are trying hard. For example, a worker whose efforts are interrupted by others should make sure supervisors know how hard he or she is trying.

Social Behaviors

This lesson shows students that successful people:

Other Vocabulary

• orderlies
• patient
• permanent
• X-ray
• lounge

Suggested Lesson Plans

Introduction

• Ask students to name ways an evaluator (boss, teacher) can determine how hard someone is working.
• Have students brainstorm a list of clues they might look for in evaluating someone else (e.g., the person meets deadlines, makes few mistakes, is on time, and stays late if necessary).
• Introduce vocabulary.

Group Use of Student Workbook

• Ask students to read and summarize Scene 1 of the play and answer these questions:
• How could you tell that Hank was trying hard to do a good job?
• What clues in Scene 1 told us that Michael had a bad attitude?
• Ask students to read and summarize Scene 2 and answer these questions:
• What did Michael do to distract Hank?
• How did Hank handle these distractions?
• How would you handle a person like Michael?
• Ask students to read and summarize Scene 3 and answer the following questions:
• Why did Hank need to talk to Ms. White? Do you think he was wise to do this? If so, why?
• What might have happened if Ms. White had thought Hank had the same attitude as Michael?
• Do you think Hank should have mentioned Michael by name when he was trying to explain his problem? What would be the advantages of doing that? The disadvantages? Why do you think he didn't?

Follow - Up

• As you think about this whole play, do you think Hank's efforts paid off? Why or why not?
• Why is it important for people who judge us-bosses, parents, teachers, coaches--to know how hard we're trying? (So that we'll get the rewards we've earned; so that we won't be misunderstood; so that we will feel like persisting and trying hard in the future.)
• Have students describe appropriate and inappropriate ways of letting people know about our efforts, for example:

Behavior Development Activity

To encourage students to persist in the face of difficulties:

• Review with students what Hank did to stay out of trouble. Ask students if Hank was persistent in his efforts, or if he sometimes gave in to Michael's temptations.
• Ask students to plan a party for 100 people. Ask them to plan the entertainment, food, and decorations for this party. Have each student make a list of everything they would need to do. Tell students the list will be collected in ten minutes. Tell students to keep working no matter what happens in the classroom. (Select two student observers without mentioning their roles to the class.)
• After students begin working on this task, create a series of disturbances. (Play a radio loudly, have a janitor come into the room and begin banging to repair something, and have another person come in to move some furniture around.)
• After five minutes, ask students how much work they have done.
• Discuss the difficulty in persisting despite distractions.
• Ask students to describe specific techniques that can be used to persist in spite of difficulty:
• Concentrate on the task at hand.
• Tune out distractions.
• Move away from the sources of distraction.
• Don't give up
• Ask observers to report on what they saw. What were some of the coping techniques they observed? Can they suggest others?

Review

• Ask students to identify two reasons why people who judge us - bosses, parents, teachers, coaches - need to know that we're trying hard; that is so that we:
• receive the rewards we've earned,
• avoid misunderstandings, and
• have the motivation to keep on trying.